Fender Re-Paint

Pe0plez

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Hello all,

Recently I was driving behind a semi during my normal commute when I saw the truck kick up a rather large rock that hit my passenger side fender. There was a pretty sizeable scratch, but no dents, just a scratch. I wanted to get this fixed since the car has less than 2k miles on it and a buddy of mine said he could do it and that he had the supplies already. (He has a 2017 Civic in the same color.)

So I brought my car to his house over the weekend so he could touch it up. Turns out he has no idea what he is doing or just messed up pretty badly. It's not the most noticeable issue in the world, but it still bugs me. I took it to a local body shop today and they quoted me $1300 - $1600 which sounds ridiculous to me. Does anyone have experience with something like this, and if so is this a reasonable price? (It's hard to get good pictures at the moment.) Thanks for any responses!

Honda Civic 10th gen Fender Re-Paint 20210503_162259
Honda Civic 10th gen Fender Re-Paint 20210503_162247
 

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Did he just... paint that with a touch up pen? That's kind of what it looks like.

Yeah, body shop work isn't cheap. They're probably quoting you for respraying the whole fender/paint matching/prep time etc. You might be able to DIY a better fix with some proper paint match spray and a good wet sand afterwards, but it's not an easy task if you have no body work experience.

That being said, for the job, $1300 seems high. Have you tried calling around to see comparable prices? I would think a fender respray with prep should only be around $400.
 

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Tell this guy not to quit his day job ?‍♂
 
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Did he just... paint that with a touch up pen? That's kind of what it looks like.

Yeah, body shop work isn't cheap. They're probably quoting you for respraying the whole fender/paint matching/prep time etc. You might be able to DIY a better fix with some proper paint match spray and a good wet sand afterwards, but it's not an easy task if you have no body work experience.

That being said, for the job, $1300 seems high. Have you tried calling around to see comparable prices? I would think a fender respray with prep should only be around $400.
I think that's what he did... I wasn't there as I had another appointment. I thought it'd be closer to $400 so I'll shop around a bit for sure.

Thanks!
 


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So...I think the price would be close to 800-1000 ish. I don't think it'll be anywhere near 400, due to the labor and the area you live in. Basically, the body shop will have to sand all that down to primer or at least the base coat. Essentially until it's all smooth, then sand down the rest of the fender's clear. Then lay the base coat (one coat, maybe 2) on that area, and then the clear coat (at least 2 coats of clear) the whole fender. Don't forget they'll have to blend into the bumper, and maybe...just maybe the hood as well. Which includes sanding down the clear of the whole bumper, and then laying the new base coat near the fender to blend and then clearing the whole bumper. And then depending on how the orange peel is on the clear vs the factory clear, they may have to cut and buff it to match.
So all that time alone to prep all that warrants the high price. You may be able find a shop that does it for $400, but I can guarantee you it's going to be a sub-optimal job. Also, depending on what kind of paint and clear they use, that factors into the cost. Good base coat and clear coat ain't cheap.

One thing you can possibly try is to wet sand it and see where that gets you. Probably need to start around 400 to knock off all the extra paint, then 600, 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000 and cut and buff. Technically, if your buddy just painted over the factory clear coat, you can sand all that shit paint off (But gotta be very careful) until you reach your factory clear, but you don't want to wet sand thru your factory clear. But that entails putting even pressure (i'd suggest a sanding block) and working meticulously and knowing how far you've sanded and where to stop. So...there's definitely a learning curve to it.


You're buddy was in over his head :doh:
 
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jXian

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So...I think the price would be close to 800-1000 ish. I don't think it'll be anywhere near 400, due to the labor and the area you live in.
I'm not sure where you're from, but around here it's absolutely unheard of for one fender to cost $1000 to paint. Maybe if you went to the dealer and wanted them to source the work for you? But if you just call around I'm positive you'll find a reputable body shop that won't charge you an arm and a leg.
 

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I'm not sure where you're from, but around here it's absolutely unheard of for one fender to cost $1000 to paint. Maybe if you went to the dealer and wanted them to source the work for you? But if you just call around I'm positive you'll find a reputable body shop that won't charge you an arm and a leg.
Nope, not talking about going thru the dealer.
I'm in LA county in Southern California, where prices and cost of living is pretty high, where the OP lives, is even higher. I don't know how prices are like for people in Canada. I'm speaking from experience, I had two doors painted on my hatch, and it was $1000.

But you're thinking about one fender. Don't forget that they would still need to blend into the bumper. Yeah, maybe just one stand alone fender w/o any body work will be $400 to paint it.

I got quoted $500 to just clear my CF hood. So yeah, I ended up doing that myself..and a gallon of clear including the hardner was around $300. Of course I had left over, but just saying, automotive paint related things aren't cheap.
 
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Mugenkb1

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Sorry OP, don't mean to hijack the thread, but this is essentially what would need to be done to your car, although on a lesser scale. Or if your buddy knew what he was doing...he would have done something like this.


Honda Civic 10th gen Fender Re-Paint 5ea2c4f3-12cc-4e85-8c7f-2aee7442e15b.JPG

Story is, I needed a van to shuttle my doggos around, bought this savaged Odyssey in an auction. It has been side swiped, thus totalled out by the insurance company. It needed new doors and fenders, and work on the rear quarter ( i sorta skipped the rear quarter because it was out of my skill level and I really didn't care, works fine as is). Basically all done in the driveway, not ideal, but worked for what I needed.


2 quarts of Sherwin williams automotive base coat was about $200, and that's the standard paint. If you wanted the good stuff that matches better to factory color, it's double the price. I went for the standard stuff.


Honda Civic 10th gen Fender Re-Paint IMG-0435.JPG

Replacement door and fenders. Had to sand down the clear on the doors so the new paint will adhere to it. Front fender is primered. Sanded down the rear quarter area all the way to the taillights to blend.


Honda Civic 10th gen Fender Re-Paint IMG-0438.JPG

Couple layers of base coat.


Honda Civic 10th gen Fender Re-Paint IMG-0439.JPG

Gives off a matted texture and look.


Honda Civic 10th gen Fender Re-Paint IMG-0440.JPG

Then couple layers of clear.


Honda Civic 10th gen Fender Re-Paint IMG-0442.JPG

If you look hard enough, there's a color miss match on the bumper compared to the fender. The bumper has a slight red tone to it (and the hood, but not pictured). So if you where to have your hatch's fender painted, they will at least need to blend the bumper. I didn't care for this car, so I didn't. But that's the proper way to do it. Hope this knowledge helps so then you know what body shops are talking about. But yeah, it does take quite a bit of labor, but if the shop does it well, it can look like OEM and look 100% perfect. I'd say you definitely get what you pay for when it comes to body shop and paint work.
 
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Thanks for all the replies guys! I've called 2 more shops and have been quoted $1000+ at each, so the pricing seems right at least for my area. I've never done any paint work so I don't even want to try and do it myself. The only reason I took it to my friend is because he said he's done it before, but I think he way over estimated his abilities.

However, all of the shops I've spoken to have recommended contacting my insurance and filing a claim. I do have comprehensive coverage so if they accept it I'll only have to pay my $500 deductible. Fingers crossed ?
 


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Thanks for all the replies guys! I've called 2 more shops and have been quoted $1000+ at each, so the pricing seems right at least for my area. I've never done any paint work so I don't even want to try and do it myself. The only reason I took it to my friend is because he said he's done it before, but I think he way over estimated his abilities.

However, all of the shops I've spoken to have recommended contacting my insurance and filing a claim. I do have comprehensive coverage so if they accept it I'll only have to pay my $500 deductible. Fingers crossed ?
I wouldn't claim this through your insurance, especially since your $500 deductible is already half the cost of the respray. The shops probably want you to go through insurance because it is common for them to inflate the total amount with additional labor/parts/misc costs when insurance is covering the repair.
 

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I wouldn't claim this through your insurance, especially since your $500 deductible is already half the cost of the respray. The shops probably want you to go through insurance because it is common for them to inflate the total amount with additional labor/parts/misc costs when insurance is covering the repair.
100%. I am having a Quarter + Hatch + Bumper replaced and the difference was astonishing. 100% cash was about 65% of the Insurance cost / estimate provided by the SAME body shop. Sometimes it's a good idea to simply pay out of pocket.
 
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100%. I am having a Quarter + Hatch + Bumper replaced and the difference was astonishing. 100% cash was about 65% of the Insurance cost / estimate provided by the SAME body shop. Sometimes it's a good idea to simply pay out of pocket.
Even if my premium doesn't increase? My insurance contact said that if the repairs stay under $2000 then my premium shouldn't increase.
 

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Even if my premium doesn't increase? My insurance contact said that if the repairs stay under $2000 then my premium shouldn't increase.
Did they mention that your current $500 deductible will increased on your next claim?
 
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Did they mention that your current $500 deductible will increased on your next claim?
No they didn't mention anything like that. It was only a brief conversation though. I had to leave for a work meeting.
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